The low cost of Internet connectivity and the wide range of services available over the Internet are driving the deployment of TCP/IP networks. This process has led to a new market of client-server applications that enables the user to interact with other users and computer systems around the world. The development of Internet connectivity has contributed to a need for network activity monitoring and measurement. This need has become especially acute, however, given the recent popularity of the Internet and other internets—an “internet” being any plurality of interconnected networks which forms a larger, single network. With the growth of networks used as a collection of clients obtaining services from one or more servers on the network, it is increasingly important to be able to monitor the use of those services and to rate them accordingly. Such objective information, for example, regarding which services (i.e., application programs) are being used, who is using them, how often they have been accessed, and for how long, is very useful in the maintenance and continued operation of these networks. It is especially important that selected users be able to access a network remotely in order to generate reports on network use and to monitor network and server performance in real time. Similarly, a need exists for a real-time network monitor that can monitor and measure network performance in real time.